Bale-band fastening.



(No Model.)

9);); lumen n. m. CAMPBELL.

Patented July I0, 1900.

BALE BAND FASTENING.

(Application filed. may 7, 1900.

2 Sheets-Shaei l.

, ou yfas fiampel 511w wto'a Patented My ID, I900.

D M CAMPBELL BALE BAND FASTENING.

(Application fllad may 7, 1900.) (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 2.

jouylas'mflamplaell y NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DOUGLAS M. CAMPBELL, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO SINCLAIRTALIAFERRO, OF SAME PLACE.

BALE-BAND FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 653,337, dated July 10,1900. Application filed May 7, 1900. Serial No. 15,792- (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DOUGLAS M. CAMPBELL, a citizen of theUnitedStates,residing at Houston,in the county of Harris and State of Texas,have invented a new and useful Bale-Band Fastening, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to a bale-band fastening or bale-tie; and it hasfor an object to provide a simple and efficient device of this characterhaving means for taking up a maximum amount of slack in the band with aminimum movement, while at the same time serving to tightly secure theband about the bale and preventing the same from loosening or the endsthereof from rending apart.

A further object of the invention is to construct the fastening or tiewith a minimum number of parts, readily assembled and separated, toprovide for fastening and unfastening the bale-band.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novelconstruction, combination, and arrangement of parts hereinafter morefully described, illustrated, and claimed.

The essential features of the invention, involving the special relationof the catch-hooks offset from one side of the buckle-plate and thelocking member associated therewith, are necessarily susceptible to somemodification I without departing from the spirit or principle of theinvention; but the preferred embodiment of the improvements is shown inthe ac companying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view ofa bale-band fastening constructed in accordance with the presentinvention, showing the buckle-plate in its initial position with theends of the band threaded therethrough. Fig. 2 is a perspecti ve viewshowing the buckle-plate completely turned and the locking member or keyengaged therewith and also with the bale-band. Fig. 3 is a detail inperspective of the buckleplate. Fig. 4 is a detail elevation of thelooking member or key. Fig. 5' is a perspective view showing a modifiedform of the invention, illustrating the buckle-plate partially turnedand the locking member or key disconnected therefrom. Fig. Gisaperspective view of the modified form, illustrating the bucklecompletely turned and the parts locked together. Fig. 7 is a sectionalView of the construction shown in Fig. 6. I Like numerals of referencedesignate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

The bale-band fastening or bale-tie constituting the present inventionessentially comprises a buckle-plate and a locking member or catch,which are adapted to engage with each other and also with the band toprovide for securing the latter tightlyabout the bale after the slack inthe band hasbeen taken up in the manner to be presently explained. Inthe preferred embodiment of the invention, represented in the drawings,the buckle-plate is designated by the reference-num-eral 12 and thelocking member or key by the reference-numeral13. The buckleplate 12constitutes the winding member of the device, and preferably consists ofan approximatelyrectangular plate provided therein with a band-receivingeye or opening 14, which is sufficiently large to freely and looselyreceive therein the lapped ends 4 of an ordinary bale-band 5, and atthis point it may be noted that while the device is essentially designedfor use as a slack take-u p and fastening for the bands of cotton-balesthe same is necessarily capable of general application to bands used foranalogous purposes.

The said open-center winding member or buckle-plate 12 ot' the preferredform of the invention, by reason of the band-receiving eye or'opening 14therein, is formed at opposite sides of the opening with what may beproperly termed fulcrum-bars 16, which constitute integral parts of theplate and'are adapted to impinge upon the lapped ends of the bale-bandand provide fulcrum-points upon which the band bends. On account ofthese oppositely-located fulcrum-bars 16 the bends in the band will beclose and sharp, thus insuring a firm engagement of the plate with theband, so as to reduce the slipping of the parts to a minimum while theplate is being turned to take up the slack in the band.

At one edge, contiguous to a fulcrum-bar 16, the flat buckle-plate 12 isprovided with a retaining-notch 17, which receives thereinthe lappedends of the band and prevents detachable locking member or key 13.

lateral slipping or displacement thereof, and uponothe opposite edge orside thereof the said buckle-plate 12 is provided with a pair ofparallel holding-arm extensions 18, lying Within the plane of the bodyof the plate and projecting a material distance beyond the adjacentfulcrum-bar 16 to insure a proper looking of the parts, and at theirterminals the said straight holding-arm extensions 18 are provided withlaterally-projecting catch-r These catch-hooks 19 are turned hooks 19.outward from the same side of the plate and are disposed, respectively,at opposite sides of the space between the holding-arm extensions 18,and the said catch-hooks 19 are adapted to be engaged by an insertibleand The loekingmember or key 13 essentiallyv consists of asubstantially-straight bar provided at one end with a right-angled arm20 and at its opposite end with an inclined inserting prong 21, disposedat an obtuse angle to the straight body portion of the key and adaptedto'facilitate the insertion of the key beneath thebandwhenthe windingmember or buckleplate .is to be locked in position. The rightangled arm20 at oneend of the key facilitates the handling thereof in inserting orremoving the same.

In applying the device to a bale-band one end of the band 5 is threadedthrough the eye oropening 14 from one direction, while the other end ofthe band is threaded through the said eye or opening from the oppositedirection, so as to overlap the opposing end. After thus threading theends of the band through-the eye of the buckle-plate, as plainly shownin Fig. 1 of the drawings, the same is engaged at one or both edges by asuitable hand-wrench or tool of the type disclosed in my fo'rmerpatents,Nos. 609,872 and 639,695,

or byany other equivalent device capable of By means exerting thenecessary leverage. of .this hand-wrench or turning device thebuckle-plate 12 is turned bodily upon one edge as a fulcrum, therebywinding up upon itself the slack of the band. The turning movement orleverage is applied to the buckleplate until the catch-hooks 19,projecting lfromone side thereof, have their bends or loops carried orpressed below the planeof the :band, and by then inserting the inclinedprong 21 of the locking-key 13 beneath that portion of the band lyingbeneath the holding arms 18.the straight portion of the key may bereadily passed transversely beneath the band, so as to engage thereunderand within the hooks 19, as plainly shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings,thereby securing or looking the buckle-plate 12 against turning backwardand holding the slack that has been taken up. It will also be observedthat the locking-key 13.0an bereadily withdrawn from engagement withthehooks 19 and from beneath the band should it be desired to loosen theband and operation of rebanding a bale. This is quite an importantadvantage of the present'construction, as by the old methods of rebanding it is difficult and sometimes impossible to replace a band that willstay on without repressing the bale in the press.

In the fastening just described it will be observedthat the lapped bandis wrapped (double-looped) about the buckle, and the parts namely, theband and the buckleare firmly held in twisted position by theholding-arms 18, being carried a little at one side of the axis ofrotation and secured beneath the band by the locking-key 13, so thatafter the bale is taken out of the press the entire expansive pressureor force serves to compact and solidify the band-fastenin g. It will beobserved that by reason of the arms 18 being carried at one side ofthe'plane of the axis of rotation or turning the opposite portions ofthe band are thrown in a straight line, so that the tension is exertedupon the main portion of the buckle, so that it'is practicallyunbreakable.

In connection with the construction described it is to be observed thatthe shape of the locking-key 13 facilitates the locking of the parts,besides preventing the lateral slipping of the key.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the essential feature ofconstruction resides in the buckle-platehaving a pair of hooks offsetfrom the same side thereof, in combination with the locking member orkey adapted to engage with said pair of hooks and also to engagetransversely across the band at one side of-the plane of the plate. Thisconstruction may be embodied in different formssuch, for instance, asshown in Figs. 4:, 5, and 6 of the drawings, which represent one of thesimplest modifications of theidea. Referring particularly to thismodification, the numeral 1 designates the buckle-plate, and the numeral2 designates the locking member or key. The said buckle-plate 1 isprovided therein with a band-receiving eye or opening 3, in the oppositeedges of which are located the fulcrum -bars 6, performing the samefunction as the fulcrum-bars 16 in the con--- struction alreadydescribed. In addition to the band-receiving eye or opening 3 and-theoppositely-located fulcrum-bars 6 the flat buckle-plate 1 isillustrated. as being provided with a pair of oppositely-locatedcatch-hooks 7, struck up from the body of the plate and turned outwardfrom the opposite side edges of the said eye or opening 3. 'The saidcatchhooks 7 are arranged in parallelism and are of a length equalingthe width of the eye-or opening 8, and, furthermore, the said hooks areprojected laterally from the same side of the buckle-plate and arecurved in reverse directions, so as to slidably and-detachably receivetherein the side arms 9 of the locking member 2. The locking member 2for the buckle-plate is preferably in the form of a U- shaped key bentfrom a single length'of stout wire and provided at the terminals of itscross-bar 10 with the offset bends 11, which IIO deflect the saidcrossbar to a position at one side of the longitudinal plane of the sidearms 9, so that the cross-bar of the locking member may span across thelapped ends of the bale-band, and thereby prevent the buckleplate fromturning backward after the band ends have been wound or folded thereon.The deflection of the cross-bar 10 from the longitudinal plane of theside arms 9 is plainly shown in Figs. 5 and .6 of the drawings. Af-

ter turning the buckle-plate and bringing the same to the position shownin Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings the side arms 9 0f the looking member 2are slipped into the catchhooks 7 at one side of the buckle-plate, so asto permit the cross-bar 10 of the lockin g memher to be carried to aposition in which it extends across the outer side of the band at theopposite side of the plate, thus securing the latter against backwardmovement. By withdrawing the locking member 2 from its engagement withthe hooks 7 of the buckleplate the latter is released, so as to permitthe band to spring 1oose.

In carrying out the invention with the construction shown in Figs. 4, 5,and 6 it is preferable that the catch-hooks 7 be arranged so as to lienext to the bale when the buckleplate has been turned to its lockedposition, thereby presenting a smooth outer surface when the fasteningis locked.

From the foregoing it is thought that the construction,operation,andmany advantages of the herein-described invention willbe readilyapparent to those skilled in the art without further description, and itwill be understood that various changes in the form, proportion, andminor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthe principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent, is

1. A bale-band fastening comprising a fiat buckle-plate adapted to turnbodily upon one edge as a fulcrum, and provided with a bandreceiving eyeor opening, said plate being further provided With a pair of offsetcatch-hooks projecting laterally from the same side of the plate, and aseparate locking-key arranged flat against and wholly upon the side ofthe plate from which the hooks project, and having opposite portionsengaging said hooks and the portion between the latter engagingtransversely across the band, substantially as set forth. I

2. A baleband fastening comprisinga fiat buckle-plate adapted to turnbodilyupon one edge as a fulcrum and provided with. a bandreceiving eyeor opening, said plate being further provided with a pair of parallelholdingarm extensions having terminal hooks projecting laterally fromthe same side thereof, and a separate locking-key consisting of asubstantially-straight body portion provided at one end with aninserting-prong, said key being adapted to be arranged flat against andwholly upon the side of the holding-arm extension from which the hooksproject, and having its end portions engaging said hooks and the portionbetween the latter extending transversely beneath the band,substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

DOUGLAS M. CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

FRANK B. KING, B. T. PERKINS.

